Hundreds of fans came out to the free FanFest and official live weigh-in hosted by entertainment personality Nick Cannon.

Photo by Juan Antonio Martinez

Under a hot sun, hundreds of people gathered on Friday, Sept. 7 at the Oakland City Center in Oakland to partake in a unique event.

Before Saturday’s Super Middleweight Championship fight between Oakland boxing multi-champion 168-pound Andre Ward, and WBC 175-pound Champion Chad Dawson, both boxers had some business to take care of. Ward and Dawson each needed to step on a scale and weigh themselves.

Although this spectacle didn’t officially begin until 3 p.m., many Oaklanders, as well as boxing fans from all over the Bay Area, made their way to downtown Oakland ahead of time for the city’s FanFest festivities.

Mayor Quan made a brief appearance on stage at the weigh-in. “Like all of Oakland, I am extremely proud of Andre’s accomplishments,” she said. “I want to let him, his fans and all of Oakland know we are not only proud fans but are also cheering him on to victory in his title fight.”

“Once again, Oakland will be the focus of sports fans across the country because of Andre and this title fight,” Quan added. “We always enjoy showcasing Oakland’s greatness, its character and charm, and the greatest sports fans in the world and we wish Andre all the best.”

A number of high-profiled public figures joined Mayor Quan at the six-hour day event including Bay Area boxers Nonito Donaire and Robert Guerrero and former Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis.